"My head. It hurts." Josh left the black market with a terrible headache. It also didn't help to hear that he missed the auction because he passed out.
He was beyond pissed, of course. Now he had to wait another 3 months to buy an elf slave. According to his knowledge, many MC's literally obtain a slave girl in their harem on their first day or first week.
"Man, this must be one of those stories where the MC doesn't get a slave in the beginning of his story… Wait, what am I saying? Maid was a slave. But I really wanted an elf. And it's been about 3 months since I've been here. Felicia, Naveah, let's go… huh? Where are they?"
Josh looked around to see his two harem members were gone.
"Naveah, Felicia?! Don't tell me, they were taken by a noble!" Josh's worst fears have been realized, his harem members were taken by an evil and perverted fat noble.
Actually he had been hoping that something would happen to them. In every generic harem story, the MC's harem always faces a bump on the road, like kidnapping, menacing threats, family issues, and in very rare cases they actually die.
In most cases, this happens because their families want to use them for some sick acts like marrying a powerful, fat, perverted, evil noble to expand their power or whatnot, while not giving a damn about their daughter/niece/granddaughter/sister or whatever the case is.
And in other cases, it's because some powerful perverted people always look to trouble the MC through his harem, especially the fat nobles.
"Finally. Er, I mean, DON'T WORRY, I AM COMING TO SAVE YOU!" This proved Josh that he is the MC. Why else would such cliches befall on him?
There was a happy smile on his face as he ran at full speed to retrieve his girls.
Lately he'd been worried that he wasn't the MC, ever since Maid 'died' he'd been suspecting that he isn't the MC. No MC could ever let the loli of his group die, unless if it was a meaningful death he would understand.
And the fact that he couldn't overpower the powerful Goddess on his first encounter, like a worldwide hated female MC from episodes 7-9 whose name rhymes with 'Ray.' or another hated Chinese female MC who brought 'dishonor' to everyone around her, whose name rhymes with 'Hulan.'
But thanks to this cliche, it proved to him that he truly was the MC and it made him happy.
A few hours before, this is what happened to Naveah and Felicia.
After waiting for hours and hours for Josh, they were getting tired, cold, and hungry.
"Wanna grab something to bite?" Naveah asked, holding her stomach in pain.
"Yeah, let's. Hero Josh likely won't come out for a few more hours."
"Okay. There's a village that's a bit far but it's the closest one here. And I have some money. I wish I didn't lose my magical ring or I'd have brought a lot of food with me."
So both left to eat, came back a few hours later since the village was fairly far, and continued waiting for Josh to exit the black market.
"You don't think that Hero Josh came out while we were out eating, right?" Asked Felicia sipping on a refreshing drink. They even brought food for him which could be reheated by Naveah.
"No way our luck is that bad."
"You have a point."
6 days went by fast. And still no sign of Josh.
"You don't think Josh forgot about us? Does he know that Maid didn't die and that we lied about her?!" Felicia was becoming increasingly worried.
She'd been asking Naveah the same question for over a week. They even had a small tent set up, and even had so much garbage piling up due to how long they've been waiting for.
Naveah denied it at first. But now it seems very possible. She didn't want to think that this is true, which is why they waited almost an entire week for Josh.
Her success in life relied on her becoming a companion of a hero, and if possible bear his children and marry him. It's her main motivation to be with him. Becoming a hero's spouse or even concubine would guarantee her success and for her children, who she will love very much.
It's not just her but multiple men and women have done the same thing since always. The Great Sage also had many concubines, wives, and therefore produced many offspring.
"Maybe we should head back to the kingdom. Perhaps he found another exit, or something. Maybe he's there searching for us as we speak." Naveah couldn't think of a proper explanation, but she just hoped that Josh was there and hoped that he didn't abandon them.
"Yeah." Felicia and Naveah left in a hurry.
Meanwhile…
Will was currently building some furniture made of leather. It's not as comfortable as he'd hoped, from beds to chairs, stools. His old bed was worn out, torn, and started to smell.
He couldn't use any kind of shampoo because he didn't have any. He'd make his own, but lacked the proper materials to make some, especially if he doesn't know how shampoos are made. The crafting system doesn't help either in helping him find the materials needed for crafting shampoos.
And he couldn't leave his base alone. There are 80 people outside of his castle walls armed literally to the teeth. If he left, there's no telling what would happen if they attempt to break in.
"This sucks. Need to buy some sheep to breed and make wool out of them, and also some chicken for feathers. And also getting tired of eating camel meat and fruits only."
Will had dragon meat and scorpion meat, but he'd be crazy to eat them. Scorpion meat was possibly poisonous. And dragon meat has a horrible and pungent smell, and the meat is super tough like rubber. Only Adaline could eat those meats no problem.
But he knew he shouldn't complain too much. Not long ago he was forced to eat grass in order to survive.
Will build other small buildings besides his main one. It's in case other people wanted to stay over, like Grace, Jack, Arbor, Sandra. Inside the buildings they all had proper flooring installed, multiple rooms, bathrooms, many types of furniture.
They were all basic stone buildings but he was proud of his creations. Reminds him of when he enslaved villagers in minecraft and placed them in houses to trade them and breed them. Ah, good times.
While Will was making some furniture, Adaline raised her head quickly. She sensed someone familiar.
He was eagerly waiting for any one of his friends to stay over. He can't wait for them to see the small buildings he put so much time and effort into building.
In the past he couldn't properly give them a proper place to stay, it was mostly just filthy and worn down buildings where they would stay. No proper furniture was even added until now.
Not like he had a good reason to give them better rooms to stay in, he was just bored and decided to kill time by doing this.
Maybe he likes it when others compliment his work, too.
"What's wrong?" Will noticed Adaline, he recognized it when she was acting weird. Like how pet owners immediately notice their pets act weird after being with them for so long.
Adaline ran towards the door pointing at it using her head and roots.
"Someone we know? Attack mode {off}" Will thought of Sandra so he ran outside. Adaline stayed inside.
The 80 men noticed Will exiting his building. They stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
"Is there something wrong, Hero Will?" Asked one of the 80 people from the empire.
"No." Will walked through their camp which all of them made way for him, treating him respectfully. It was their Empress's orders not to anger him or bother him in the slightest, especially when tomorrow the Empress would be arriving.
Will saw two figures far away using his enchanted mask. He was still wearing his exotic-wooden armor since it gave him a nice set bonus, which is why he isn't wearing his dragon-bone or dragon scale armor.
He saw Arbor and Rias headed this way on their mounts at a fast speed. Arbor had a grim expression on his face like his mother just died. Rias had a similar expression but not as dark as Arbor's.
"Did I do something to piss them off?" Will asked himself but nothing came to mind.
He did accidentally shoot Grace but they all know it was an accident.
They reached Will standing outside. The 80 men noticed them but did not say anything.
"Sir, they're elves." They recognize them by their weapons and mounts. Arbor and Grace are still in their human disguise but it was to tell that they are elves.
"I can see that." The one in charge sends a message to the Empress. As per her orders, anything they see that is related to the hero they must report to her, it'll give her a better insight as to what kind of person Will is before confronting him.
"Will." Arbor and Rias immediately jumped off their mounts and almost jumped on him.
"What?" Will took a few steps back because of their actions.
He didn't have a good impression on Rias at all, but he had good impressions on Arbor since they both care for Adaline.
"IsGraceherewithyou?" Asked Rias in a very fast manner it was almost impossible to understand her.
"What?" Asked Will.
"Grace… is she here?"
"No. Why?"
Rias turned to Arbor and shook her head. Arbor's face turned darker than before.
"Was she here with you last week?"
"Yes. What's going on?"
"Grace is missing. We believe she's been taken by a slave trader, most likely by the black market."
"Oh no." Will said. After a second of thinking he started walking back to his base nonchalantly.
"Where are you going?" Asked Rias in a stupified manner. Grace was missing and Will's reaction wasn't what she expected. He expected her to say "I'll look for her!" Or something, but no.
"Going back to my base to build, craft, and eat. The usual."
"Aren't you gonna help us find her?"
"I would, but I won't."
"You can't be serious." Rias said. Were they not friends?
"Does Rias's grandfather know about her? The king of the elves?"
"He does. He is also looking for her."
"Then I expect that your Goddess Lea is looking for her as we speak? And do you have an army of elves looking for her?"
"Naturally. Over 1000 are looking for her as we speak."
"Then she'll likely turn up sooner than later. I don't see how I can help. I won't say that Grace's disappearance doesn't bother me, but I don't see how I can help."
It took Will a second to realize that he won't be of any use looking for Grace. He doesn't have an ability or carry an item that can search for her.
If even a Goddess who can communicate and control nature can't find her, and if there's over a thousand elves looking for her and can't find her, how can a single person like him find her?
It's not like he doesn't care. He just doesn't know how to find her. And if he did go searching, it'd be a pointless task, like searching for a needle in the ocean.
"Didn't you find Taker? The infamous child kidnapper? The same one that even the Great Sage had trouble catching?"
"No, it wasn't me. It was Adaline who found him. And she only did so by chance because we happened to be at the right place at the right time. Actually… hold on a second."
Will ran to his base..
Rias looked at Arbor and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what he was thinking.
Seconds later Adaline exited the building, on top of her was Will. This left the 80 soldiers surprised but Will didn't care about them anymore, it's not like they'll try to hunt her or want to kill her. These past few days Will noticed that these soldiers were chill. Still he didn't fully trust them.
Adaline circled around Arbor and rested her head on his body. Arbor slowly patted her, but because of Grace he couldn't give her the attention he always gives her.
"I can't find Grace, but Adaline might. Take her with you and keep her safe."
"Are you sure?" Asked Rias.
"Grace is a good friend. Not you, though. I don't trust you, but I trust Arbor."
"Harsh, but understandable."
Rias translated to Arbor what Will had told her.
Arbor looked at Will and said, "Thank you." in elven tongue.
Will nodded and responded with, "No problem." in elven tongue as well.
Will had been reading how to speak elven tongue. Still he could barely say and understand a few words, and he couldn't carry a proper conversation yet.
Will held Adaline's head and brought her close to him.
"Take care, and find Grace. She needs your help. And come back to me safely, understand? And also make sure that you don't show them your 'secret' okay?"
Adaline nodded but she gave him a tight hug with her roots.
Will had to get Adaline out of his base. Tomorrow the Empress was coming to his base and if something were to happen, he didn't want Adaline to get caught in it. And also she was bored out of his mind staying in one place all the time, something he and millions of people could relate to.
Still, he is going to miss her but he believes that this is the right decision.
"Tell Arbor to take care of Adaline, okay?" Will asked Rias.
"I don't need to tell him that. What will you be doing?" Asked Rias.
"I have my own way to look for Grace. I just hope that she's fine."
"We all do."
Arbor, Adaline, and Rias left running. Will stared at Adaline until he couldn't see her figure anymore.
Practically since they've met, they've never been apart this far.
Ignoring the 80 people staring at him, Will entered his base and texted his friends, Sandra, Jack and Jasmine.
He messaged them all if they heard anything about Grace, any rumors about elves. They were all happy to help and would send him a message if they heard anything.
Will continued to build to take his mind off of Grace's sudden disappearance, but the news about Grace affected his building skills negatively.
"I don't feel like building anything anymore."
Will sat in his bed to rest, staring blankly at the wall, and waiting for his friends to message him back.
Will was still wearing his armor. The only time he takes his armor off is whenever he showers or goes in the pool. Wearing any kind of armor that he makes actually feels like he is wearing pyjamas, it is soft, flexible, and comfortable . It's like in minecraft and Terraria, the players wear armor all the time.
And thanks to Radix who shot him with an arrow through his head when he took off his armor, he started to wear his armor more often to protect himself.
Meanwhile, underground, Grace was imprisoned inside a stone wall.
In the middle of the room was a candle that barely lit the entire room. It was a clean room with no windows. It was a cold room with no insulation installed, and a large bucket in the corner. The door was a heavy iron door with a small window attached to it. A bright light could be seen peering through the door's window.
It didn't look like it was recently built. But it was maintained very well that it gave off the impression that it was built not too long ago..
Grace didn't move and remained calm. She thought back to before she was kidnapped.
6 days ago, Grace waited by the secret exit of the black market, waiting for the kidnapped elves to come out so she could free them.
The black market has three separate entrances far from each other, and has many hidden exits in case they need to escape. Even Grace has only been able to find one and that was through sheer luck.
The black market is built in a place where there was no greenery at all, this way elves won't be able to use their powers to break free or cause chaos.
Grace studied the black market for years, and every year the buyers who buy slaves go through these secret exits to avoid trouble, like ambushes. The problem is that there are multiple slave buyers and they all use different exits. Unfortunately for Grace she isn't able to save all of the elves.
And she can't even break in because it was heavily guarded. If she attempted to break in with just herself and fight them with just her own regular bow and knife, she'll likely be captured and/or die in the process.
It is not the first time the black market's buyers have been ambushed by elves or even humans, so they installed many secret exits to ensure their buyers' safety.
As Grace was waiting, her whole world turned black as someone hit her head from behind. She didn't even hear or know how they sneaked up behind her.
She figured out her kidnappers, 2 male humans both who were young, strong, and nervous and scared for some reason.
She thought she would have been violated or sold by now, but they did their utmost to keep her safe, clean, and distanced themselves from her hours at a time.
Grace noticed how they didn't even want to look at her, they avoided eye contact with her, like a pair of brothers who have just angered their parents because they committed an unforgivable act.
They also gave her vegetarian meals made up of fresh fruits and vegetables only, no meat was given to her.
Grace tried her best to escape, but she was just an elf, she didn't have any special powers at all. She could control nature but there was no greenery anywhere near where she was. Being able to communicate with her Goddess was impossible at the moment.
"How much longer do we have to do this?"
Grace heard a whisper. Her room was so quiet that she could hear a needle drop. She placed the side of her head by the door.
"Do we have a choice? He said to keep her here safe until he gives us a signal. If we don't he'll kill them!"
"I know that! But I haven't heard from him or our family in over a month. How do we know they're not dead?"
"He needs her alive, or else he would have asked us to kill her and not kidnap her."
"I just want to see my family again."
"And you don't think I want to see mine?"
Grace heard their conversation and went into a deep thought. They were forced to kidnap her?
Grace thought who it could have been that wanted her here, and for what purpose?
Meanwhile, the king was smiling, sitting on his throne while sipping on some expensive wine. Today was a good day for him.
"Ah, there is no greater thing in life than money."
Thanks to the new tax laws, they've been raking in so much money the past week.
A young man came through the door disguised like a woman, a very ugly one.
"My king." The man kneeled to the king.
"Ro… Ronald? Why the dress?" If the king didn't know better, he'd say that this is the ugliest woman to have ever lived.
"It's a disguise, my king. No one would expect me to ever recognize me in this disguise. And it makes me feel pretty." The man twirled a bit. Something inside him was beginning to awaken.
"After this do not wear something like this ever again, ever!"
"Yes, my king. I have your daily report."
Ronald is indeed just a lowly commoner, nothing special about him at all. He was randomly chosen by the king to spy on his own people and report their actions to the king, should they ever want to stage a riot or revolt the king wants to know about it.
The king firmly believes that he has the power with all the heroes, nobles, and sorcerers by his side. But still he needed to be sure that no problems would arise.
"Nothing big so far. People have indeed been feeling unrest with the new tax laws, as expected, but nothing noteworthy to mention. It is likely that no one here wants to cause problems because of the heroes." Ronald explained. He handed the king a handwritten report.
"Good. Now leave." The king snapped his fingers, and a noble gave Ronald a pouch full of silver coins.
Ronald left the kingdom through the back.
"I'm gonna wash my eyes now."